The Axeda Platform can run in either the default, non-redundant-gateways mode or in redundant-gateways mode. In the default, non-redundant gateways mode, only one Gateway manages an asset and communicates its data and status to the Platform. The Gateway that is the first to register an asset manages the asset; if another Gateway registers the same asset, the existing registration (gateway-to-asset mapping) is overwritten.
In redundant-gateways mode, more than one Gateway can manage an asset.
Only your Platform administrator can set up the Platform to run in redundant-gateways mode.
When the Platform is running in redundant-gateways mode, the following changes occur in the Axeda® Connected Product Management Applications:
§ Asset Conditions - Three additional events are available for configuration as asset conditions: Enterprise Server to Agent connection compromised, Gateway to asset connection compromised, and Asset disconnected. The first event occurs when any of the managing Gateways for an asset is disconnected from the Platform. The second event occurs when any of the managing Gateways is disconnected from the asset. The third event occurs when the Platform is no longer receiving any information for a managed asset; in this case, no Gateways associated with that managed asset are communicating information for that asset.
§ Rules - The Connectivity rule is available for configuration. This rule allows you to configure actions to occur based on a change in the connectivity between the asset and the Gateways managing it in/or between a managing Gateway and the Platform.
§ Add Assets page (from Gateway Configuration) - The Add Assets page for Gateways allows assets to be added to multiple Gateways.
§ Gateway parameters - For each managing Gateway,
you can configure a different set of parameters, save them, and then deploy
them. The Platform allows for many-Gateways-to-one-asset configuration,
where each Gateway-to-asset combination can have different parameter settings.
The Asset Gateway Parameters page does not appear in the Create Asset wizard
when the Platform is in redundant-gateways mode. A managed asset must
first be associated with a Gateway before the Gateway parameters can be
added. After creating a managed asset, you can select Gateways
on the View menu to display the
list of Gateways configured in the Platform. In that page, click the Configure link for the Gateway to
which you want to add the managed asset (in the Gateway
Configuration: Name page, click Add
Assets). Once it is added to the table of Gateway Assets, the name
of the managed asset is a link you can click to provide a Modified Value
for a Gateway configuration parameter (in the Specify
gateway configuration parameters page) and then deploy the value.
§ E-mail notifications - The meaning of two of the template placeholder tags for e-mail notifications changes. <$FC> inserts the 'recipients' connectivity state; <$TC> inserts the 'to' connectivity state. When the Platform is running in redundant-gateways mode, these tags insert any one of the following values, as appropriate: "All Connected," "Partially Connected," and "All Missing." When the server is running in the default, non-redundant-gateways mode, these tags insert either "Connected" or "Missing."
§ Additional Module for Asset dashboard - The Asset dashboard for a managed asset has an additional module: Asset Connectivity. This module displays the list of managing Gateways for the asset and the connectivity statuses between the asset and each of its managing Gateways and between the Platform and each managing Gateway. The default location of this module is the center column, at the bottom; you may need to scroll down the page to see it, depending on how you have set up the layout of the Asset dashboard. (You can change the UI layout is the model s UI Preferences page.)
§ Time Zone for Managed Assets - When setting the time zone information for a managed asset, the Platform always uses the time zone of the first Gateway that registers the asset. When that Gateway is removed from the Platform, then the very next time a Gateway registers the asset (after the removal), the Platform uses the time zone of that Gateway.
§ Managed Assets Shown for Multiple Gateways - The Managed Assets module still shows the list of all assets a managing Gateway manages, just as it does in non-redundant-gateways mode; however, in redundant-gateways mode, you may see the same asset listed in more than one Managed Assets module.
§ Missing Managed Assets - A managed asset is considered missing from the Platform when no connectivity through any of the managing Gateways exists. If at least one managing Gateway is still connected, the Gateways that are disconnected show up as missing but the managed asset is not considered missing.
Note: The redundant-gateways-mode does not handle file upload interruptions between a Gateway and an asset due to a lost connection where the other managing Gateway automatically performs/recovers the upload. For best results when a file upload fails, initiate the file upload again.
§ Muted Managed Assets -
When a managing gateway is muted, all assets for defined for that managing
gateway are muted as well, automatically, UNLESS that managing gateway
is defined as part of a redundant gateway configuration. If this is the
case, a managed asset for a managing gateway will be muted automatically
only when all redundant gateways defined for that managed asset are muted.
Consider the following example of two Redundant Gateways: Gateway1 and
Gateway2. Both gateways manage the asset, ManagedAsset0. In addition,
Gateway1 independently manages ManagedAsset1. If only Gateway1 is muted,
ManagedAsset1 is also muted but ManagedAsset0 is not Now, If Gateway1
and Gateway2 are muted, ManagedAsset0 is muted (as well as ManagedAsset1,
because it is managed by Gateway1).
Also, in the case of assets managed
by gateways defined for redundant gateway configuration, file uploads
and downloads will continue for a managed asset until all defined redundant
gateways are muted.
Note: In general, dynamic scripts, which are created from the Platform and "registered" to the Agents, should NOT be used with redundant Gateways configuration. The reason is that only one of the redundant Gateways receives the script during registration.